Before you start a Tunisian crochet project, ideally you make a swatch to count how many stitches you have per the measurement indicated in the pattern. However, counting stitches is not as easy as it may seem at first glance.

For example, in the sample below, how many Tunisian simple stitches do you count?

Loops, stitches and edges

There are 5 loops. No doubt. But it does not mean there are 5 Tunisian simple stitches.

The edge stitch at the end of the row (5) does not look the same as the other stitches in the row. It is less obvious for the edge stitch at the start of the row (1). You know, the loop that remains on the hook at the end of the return pass, that is actually the stitch of the next forward pass. Does this first edge stitch count as a simple stitch?

In samples made in Tunisian knit and purl simple stitches, the difference between the edge stitches and the other stitches is obvious.

So I personally always count stitches separately from the edge stitches. The below sample is made of: 1 edge stitch, 3 simple stitches and 1 edge stitch. Or 5 loops.